At The Touch Of Love
by Alysskea
Summary: Kurt Hummel's life is perfect. He's popular, talented and dating the wonderful Rachel Anderberry. It's only when he meets his girlfriend's brother, Blaine, that he starts to question everything he thought he knew.
1. Chapter 1

_Hello! Your author here. If you're reading this, you're already doing me a favour. I really loved the prompt idea for this fic, and I wanted to give it a try as a multi-chapter thing, so I hope it turns out okay. Please let me know what you think!_

_The idea for this fic came from a prompt on tumblr from colfette . tumblr . com._

_**"At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet."- Plato**_

* * *

Kurt was straightening his tie when he heard Rachel's loud, melodic voice downstairs, conversing with his father. He was determined not to be nervous, but still felt a creeping anxiety somewhere in his chest. Generally, Kurt Hummel was a people pleaser. Quarterback of the football team, star of the Glee club, and boyfriend of the most talented girl at McKinley, Rachel Anderberry. He adjusted his tie one last time, winked at himself in the mirror and dashed out the door, running upstairs towards his living room, where his father was trying to make conversation with Rachel and his stepbrother, Finn, was hovering in the background with his usual awkward demeanour.

Rachel smiled at him as he walked into the room, kissing her on the cheek and wrapping a strong arm around her waist. He pretended to hide his annoyance when she scolded him for being late, because Rachel really was an awesome girl even if they didn't see eye to eye sometimes. She was beautiful and passionate and she really did have a nice voice, plus she was the only girl who didn't think it was weird that he had an obsession with Barbra Streisand (hell, she thought it was normal!) It had taken them a while to begin dating, but they got on well- they had sat next to each other in the first Glee club rehearsal and she had given him a rather extensive lecture about her strategy that she thought would help them win sectionals.

On the drive to Rachel's, it didn't take long for the usually composed and confident Kurt Hummel to become nervous. He'd met Rachel's dads once or twice at Parents' Night and at a few performances, but this seemed to be different some- more formal, more like a test to see if he was a good enough boyfriend than just a social occasion. Rachel had told him not to worry, of course, but he did anyway. She chatted constantly on the way, and Kurt had to admit that (just as with most of what Rachel said) he wasn't extremely interested. She had a way of going off on a tangent which resulted in her lecturing him about something and him completely switching off. Rachel, of course, didn't notice this at all.

The Anderberry household was warm and welcoming, and there was a tinkling piano melody coming from inside when Rachel's dad's opened the door. Kurt greeted them politely, shaking their hands and putting on his best Paul Smith model smile, making as much conversation as he could in their rather suffocating presence. As he shrugged off his coat and walked into their lounge, he noticed a curly head behind the grand-piano, which belonged to whoever was the source comforting melody it was omitting. It him Kurt a few seconds to remember that, of course, Rachel had a brother. He'd thought nothing of it when she'd first told him. She had a little brother, who didn't go to McKinley- he went to a private school instead because he had a problem with bullies. Kurt had wanted to ask questions at the time, but he'd known it'd been rude and had chosen to shrug it off. It was only now that the conversation came back to him and his curiosity was aroused once more.

The melody stopped when they settled into the room, and a small boy stood up from the piano stool and smiled. Kurt looked him up and down and his eyebrows rose. Rachel's brother was really cute. Not in a homo way or anything- there was just something about him that made your eyes want to carry on looking, like an interesting work of art in a gallery that stands out from all the others. His smile was contagious, and Kurt found himself grinning as they shook hands and the boy introduced himself as Blaine, a name which Kurt vaguely remembered from the conversation with Rachel. He muttered something along the lines of "Nice to meet you," and moved away as quickly as he could to put an arm around Rachel. Blaine's hand was warm and, while welcoming, made something inside Kurt itch, making him feel as though moving away was the best possible option, before something happened that made him stay.

To be honest, Kurt felt a little out of place as he tried his best to converse with Rachel's dads over dinner. His cheeks began to ache from the forced smile and the constant chattering which he used to occupy the dining room and hopefully fulfil the expectations. Thankfully, it went faster than he thought it would, and it wasn't long before they were settled on the couch in front of the TV, and the adults were yawning, and telling Kurt that they were going to bed, wishing him a safe journey home and thanking him for coming over. He nodded politely and shook their hands once again. Rachel took the opportunity to announce that she was going to begin her nightly facial routine, but requested that Kurt wait for her to finish before driving home. He was about to protest, he really needed to go home and check his dad was okay (he had been paranoid ever seen his father's arrhythmia) and get some sleep before football practice the next day. But Rachel had her insistent, slightly threatening face on that made Kurt nod and smile and tell her he'd wait. Before he knew it, he and Blaine were alone on the couch together with some reality TV show playing on mute in front of them.

The silence went on for around 5 minutes before it started to become awkward and Kurt began to shift in his seat. The smaller boy was wriggling, wringing his hands together as though something was making him nervous. Kurt turned back his attention to America's Next Top Model and, as Rachel wasn't in the room to scold him for it, began a deeply critical analysis (if he'd been a girl it'd be termed 'bitchy') of one of the contestants. He was struck by how contagious Blaine's laugh was. When Rachel laughed at his jokes it seemed forced, as though she were waiting for him to finish so she could finish telling him about her next idea for a solo, but with Blaine it was entirely different. He seemed to generally think Kurt hilarious, and joined in with his commentary, giggling until Rachel came down again- placing herself down next to Kurt and putting a possessive arm around his shoulders. Kurt felt awkward as he looked at Blaine (not Rachel) in the eye and announced that he should be going. Blaine's disappointed face made his heart sink, and so he asked Rachel to pass on his number to her brother. She looked rather put out, but plastered a smile on her face.

"Definitely, it's really nice that you two are friends. I'll give Blaine your number tonight. Bye sweetie." She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and he smiled meekly before walking out the door.

"Man," he thought to himself as he started up the car. "Thank heavens that's over."

* * *

It was the morning after his visit to the Anderberry's that Kurt received a text from an unknown number:

_Hey, it's Blaine, R's bro. This is Kurt, right?_

Kurt smiled to himself as he typed in a reply, his head still resting on his pillow and his mind slightly hazy with sleep.

_The one and only..._

He hesitated before typing another text. Something about him was intrigued by the boy he'd first seen behind the piano, the one who he'd felt so at ease talking to, despite the fact that they appeared to be polar opposites. Blaine seemed reserved, nervous- a big contrast to Kurt's confident demeanour which he put on in social situations. Maybe it was because of the bullies. He remembered Rachel telling her that he was gay, like her fathers, and he assumed that this was why he'd had to go to a school so far from his home. Kurt felt bad for him, he'd heard the way the rest of the football team had spoken about gay guys in the changing room. He laughed it off every time, but something told him that it was unfair. It wasn't like they'd done anything wrong. Kurt didn't have a problem with it, not like that, but he felt slightly unsure. He'd never had a friend who was gay before, and he wondered if you were supposed to do anything differently. Now that he thought about that, though, he felt guilty. He sounded ignorant, like the douchebag homophobes in the changing room. He was adamant that he wasn't like that, so he sent a second text to Blaine.

_Wanna hang out sometime tomorrow? Need to discuss Amanda's bad dye job in more detail. Let me know if you're free._

Blaine had been up for a while when he received Kurt's second text, and a smile spread across his face as he shoved pancakes into his mouth and washed it down with coffee. He shook his head when his dad asked him what he was smiling at.

"It's nothing, it's just Rachel's boyfriend. Says he wants to hang out with me tomorrow, sans Rachel this time, I assume," he said, thankful that his sister was still upstairs. His dad gave him a proud look and kissed his forehead

"I'm glad." The statement had a lot of unspoken meaning in it, and Blaine could tell. His parents had been desperate for him to make friends ever since he had moved schools. He knew they didn't blame him, there was no way anyone could see other people's ignorance as his fault, but he knew they worried about him a lot. Ever since the incident at the Sadie Hawkins dance his old school had organised for the sophomores, the one that still made him shiver whenever he thought of it, there'd been a change in Blaine. He laughed less, he smiled less, and he rarely left the house except for school. His family had chosen not to say anything- he was fragile, he needed time to adjust, recover. But it was halfway through junior year and he was at a new school where he was accepted. But something still felt wrong, and his dads could sense it from a mile off.

Today, though, he had a rare smile on his face. Rachel's boyfriend seemed really nice. He wouldn't admit it, but he was jealous. The boy seemed compassionate, smart and exceptionally good looking. There was something down to earth about him, and he wasn't obnoxious like a lot of the boys he'd met at his old school. The brief conversation they'd the night before had stuck in his mind. For the first time in months, he hadn't felt ashamed or scared. He felt open, he felt free. He was having _fun._ Blaine looked back down at his phone.

_Free whenever- brunch at Breadstix?_

The reply came quicker than he'd anticipated.

_Sure thing, see you there at 2pm- I need my beauty sleep. Best not to tell Rachel._

* * *

**_Review time?_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well well well, if you came back for chapter two I already owe you a lot. I hope you enjoy this! Please do let me know what you think.**

* * *

Kurt had only been sitting at the Breadstix table for about 5 minutes when Blaine walked in wearing a sweatervest and skinny jeans and well, he'd already addressed the idea that Blaine was cute. Not that it meant anything to him either way. They ordered pizza and Kurt had his mouth full when Blaine asked him if he was in love with Rachel.

He coughed ungraciously and took a gulp of water "What?"

Blaine gave him an amused smile "I only asked if you loved my sister, since you've been dating her for a while and you're all she talks about."

"Is this one of those things where you test my intentions?"

Blaine shook his head, laughing "No, no it was just a question. You don't have to answer, I get that it's not always that simple."

_No, it's not_. Kurt found himself thinking. It wasn't that there weren't a lot of _things_ about Rachel that he loved. He loved her enthusiasm and her smile and her passion for life. But something told him that it wasn't enough sometimes. Because it wasn't her he loved, and he knew it. The thought frustrated him, so he usually chose to dwell on it at little as possible. There was nothing wrong with her and he should be happy. Hell, in a town like this he should probably be thinking of settling down, moving to the suburbs and buying an ugly dog. But none of that stuff appealed to Kurt Hummel. None of it at all, including settling down with Rachel.

"She's an awesome girl."

"But...?" Blaine didn't seem angry, but there was a curious look in his eye.

Kurt wriggled under his gaze. It was as though Blaine was trying to look into his soul and he didn't like that at all. His soul wasn't the kind of place he wanted people to look, and it hadn't been for a while.

"But nothing," he half snapped "Do I have to love every girl I date now? No one else does."

Blaine stayed calm in contrast to Kurt's irritation, which only annoyed him further. The younger boy shrugged "I'd like to think that if I stayed with someone for a long time; it was because I loved them and not for any other reason."

Kurt frowned "You think I have an ulterior motive."

"I didn't say that."

"But you're thinking it." Kurt sighed "Do you ever feel like everything just happens at the wrong place at the wrong time? Like maybe if Rachel and I had met on a cruise ship in the Caribbean somewhere in a different life I could fall hopelessly in love with her, but since we met here in this stupid town in the middle of nowhere I feel like I can't?"

"Maybe you're the thing that's wrong."

Kurt felt himself getting angry "Excuse me?"

"Not like that," Blaine replied, with his usual calm tone that made Kurt want to slap him "I mean, maybe all this stuff is right, it's just not right for you."

"I've never been good with riddles," Kurt replied tersely. But he knew what Blaine was talking about. He spent a lot of his time blaming the world for everything that happened to him, and never blaming himself. The world had taken a lot of things from him- his mother, his father's good health and the sense of stability he'd had before tragedy had taken over his thoughts. But it had given him a whole lot too. He had a ton of friends, he was popular, his dad loved him (Rachel loved him too, but this wasn't the time to think about that), but something still didn't feel right. He thought maybe it was himself.

Blaine was looking at him with those eyes again, the one that saw right through Kurt's confident demeanour, the one he hated already- but still seemed to find oddly comforting. "Do you want to go for a walk or something? Unless you're still hungry."

Kurt definitely wasn't hungry anymore, so he agreed and before he knew it they were sitting in the park under a tree. Kurt could feel the bark digging into his back, and it was strangely reassuring.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier," he didn't look at Blaine when he said it, which was weird since it was one of the first sincere apologies he'd ever given to anyone but his father (over and over again).

"That's okay; I shouldn't have asked all those questions."

"Yeah but..." Kurt didn't know how to begin, so he paused briefly, turning his head to look at his companion whose bright hazel eyes were wide open, staring at him expectantly as though he were the most interesting person in the world. "But maybe you should have asked them after all, because someone has to and it's never going to be me." He jumped when he felt Blaine's hand covering his own and at first he wanted to pull away, until he realised that that wasn't what he wanted at all; it was what he'd _expected_ to want (since when was there a difference?) so he just tried to smile.

"If you ever want to talk about it..." Blaine had the most innocent look on his face when he said it "If you ever need someone to talk to who won't spread stuff round school or laugh at you, well, there's always me." He smiled.

They didn't talk until several days later, when Blaine called Kurt while he was still changing out of his football uniform, he didn't bother to look at the caller ID.

"Yeah?"

"Kurt?"

"The one and only."

"Can you come meet me in the park?"

Kurt wasn't sure what it was that made him run. There had been something about the way Blaine had said it, about the tone of his voice. Like he was about to cry, like he wanted to beg Kurt, but was too proud too because they had technically only just met and they weren't quite friends, were they?

Blaine was sitting against the very same tree he'd been at before when Kurt arrived, out of breath from running all the way from school. "Blaine?"

The boy didn't answer, and Kurt began to wonder if he'd wasted his time. It was irrational of him to come so fast, he should have sauntered home and showered instead of dashing at the speed of life to come and see this boy he barely knew. He wasn't even compassionate towards people normally. He had his family and that was it, friends and girlfriends and beautiful curly-haired boys normally didn't have this affect on him. He was about to be shocked at himself for thinking about any boy that way when he noticed the one next to him was crying.

There were silent tears coming down his face, as though he hoped they'd go unnoticed. He wasn't looking at Kurt; he wasn't looking at anything really, just staring off into the distance as though he were sleeping with his eyes open or maybe in the middle of a dream. Or maybe a nightmare. Kurt didn't know what to do, and he couldn't react right away because his heart seemed to be shrinking in his chest and his breathing had sped up and his own tears threatened to take over. He didn't even have time to wonder when he began to care so much about this kind of stuff before he realised he'd wrapped an arm around Blaine's shoulder and the boy was now sobbing into his chest.

Kurt's lips were glued shut. He was terrified of what would happen if he opened them. It felt like an eternity before the sobs finally subsided and Blaine brought his head back up, looking at Kurt with a meek, humourless laugh and a "Sorry" that made Kurt's chest hurt.

"Don't be sorry," his voice was croaky from holding back tears, or maybe it was just because he hadn't spoken in a while. His throat muscles felt constricted. "Do you... Do you wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"It's silly." Blaine hung his head and Kurt could feel shame radiating off him in waves.

He tightened his grip around Blaine's shoulder and shook his head "No, no it's not. Just tell me, maybe I can help."

Blaine sighed heavily and looked up at him "Rachel told you, right? About me." Kurt knew what he was talking about, and he nodded silently. "Right..." Blaine muttered, and a fresh wave of shame seemed to hit. "Well, er, my grandmother- she found out today. I think my dad told her, or maybe Rachel by accident, but we were in the middle of a conversation (we talk on the phone a lot) and she brought it up like it was a joke. She laughed and stuff like it was a hilarious joke because it never crossed her mind like it could actually be true. As if that'd happen in our family, she said, as if anyone in our family could turn out like that."

"Did you tell her?"

"Yes."

Kurt didn't have to ask what had happened, and he wasn't sure what he could say. He didn't think he'd felt so angry in a long time. Blaine was such a kind-hearted person, someone who presented no threat to anyone and who smiled all the time and made Kurt feel like he could do anything in the world. There was no way that it could be fair for someone like that to be treated the way he was, to be reduced to the wreck he was now. Kurt almost felt like crying when he thought about it, and somewhere in the back of his mind he made a vow to stop it, even though he wasn't sure what he could ever do to help someone in this situation.

Kurt saw the tears welling up in the boy's eyes again and at that moment he felt like he would give anything to stop them. His body seemed to abandon his mind and a hand reached out and scooped through Blaine's hair and settled on his cheek and it took him a few seconds to realise they were kissing. Kurt had never done this with a guy, of course, and it was different. But not bad different. It was surprisingly... okay. Right, even. Blaine's mouth tasted salty, like tears, but his lips were strong and more _there_ than Kurt would have expected.

When they pulled up for air, Blaine's expression vaguely mirrored what he thought his would be. Shock, of course, but there was something else. Blaine had that wide eyed look that showed he had felt it too. A shift, like the earth had moved. Like a change had happened.

When Kurt finally managed to draw his eyes away from Blaine, he saw that nothing else had actually changed. The trees were still there, the people still strolling on the grass, the blue sky and distant noises were still there. The world hadn't changed, but he had. He had.

Shit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! Sorry for the slight delay, I've just had an absolute mountain of work to be getting on with. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please let me know what you think!**

* * *

Kurt had refused to leave his room for the last two days. He didn't answer his friends' calls, he wouldn't tell his dad what was wrong and he most certainly did not return the 31 missed calls from his girlfriend. He spent the majority of his day staring at the ceiling and wondering why he still existed. The worse thing was necessarily that he had cheated; it wasn't even that he'd cheated with a guy or that it was Rachel's brother. The worst part wasn't anything he had _done_ as such, but what was going on inside of him. The fact was that he'd been waiting for the last few days for the guilt, the twisting in his stomach. That raw feeling that you get when you know you've done something wrong. That feeling was yet to come, and he felt as though he shouldn't leave his room until it did. Because if he left now, he wouldn't contact Rachel and try to make it up to her, he wouldn't ignore Blaine and go back to his life. If he left now, he would go straight over to Blaine's house and ask to 'talk'. God knows what would happen next.

His door clicked, making him jump, and the abnormally tall creature he knew as his stepbrother stepped into the room, looking nervous. Kurt sighed, he knew that his dad had put Finn up to this, but he was almost glad of the company. Finn was too oblivious to guess what was going on and too kind-hearted to pass it around even if he did figure it out. Finn had his flaws, but he was a good confidante.

"Come sit down," Kurt said blankly to the boy loitering in his doorway "I don't bite."

Finn shuffled in looking awkward, like he hadn't yet gotten used to his long limbs. "Your dad said, to come see you. He said you seemed upset or something. Do you wanna, erm, talk? Or something?"

Kurt would be forever baffled by the idea that a boy twice his size that spent all his free time in the school gym would be afraid of _him._ It had been flattering at first, but nowadays he just found it annoying. Still, Finn's expectant look really was endearing, and he opened his mouth to speak.

"Have you ever had an identity crisis?"

Finn's expression was static for a while and he nodded "Yeah, I guess. Like when you get confused about who you really are and what you really want? Sure, I've had that. I had that when I joined Glee club. Everyone kept calling me names and throwing stuff at me and it made me want to quit and never look back. But when I thought about it I realised you can't just do things because everyone else wants you too, you know?"

Kurt nodded silently, afraid to open his mouth for fear of saying something stupid.

"And I realised," Finn continued "I realised that sometimes you can't just wish for your life to stay exactly how it is. For years all I'd wanted was to be a football player, and then I found Glee club and I realised that maybe it was time to change what I wanted. It was really scary at first and I had no idea how to react but then... Well, here I am. And I'm happy."

Kurt felt something rise up in his throat, and for a second he thought he was going to vomit. He got up to go to the bathroom, but found he was dizzy. "Finn..."

Finn looked concerned, and had gone a bit pale "Should I get your dad, or..."

"No!" Kurt protested. "Listen Finn I want to tell you something but you can't tell anybody else, do you understand that?"

Finn nodded earnestly, and for a second Kurt honestly adored his stepbrother because he knew he meant it.

"I kissed someone..." He blurted out.

His brother looked confused "Rachel?"

"Not Rachel"

Finn thought for a moment "Quinn?"

"Not Quinn."

"Well then who is she?"

"Not a she."

Finn's eyes went wide and he looked like he was going to faint. "Do you mean you kissed... Like a guy?"

Kurt huffed in frustration "I didn't kiss _like_ a guy Finn, I kissed an actual guy. A living, breathing guy."

"You kissed a guy?" Finn always did take an awfully long time grasp things. "You cheated on Rachel? You kissed a _guy?"_

Kurt put his head in his hands "_Yes, _Finn. Listen I don't think I want to talk to you about this anymore."

"Hey, dude, it's okay- everyone makes mistakes, right? It doesn't mean you have to... _feel_ anything."

Kurt lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling "What if I did feel something? What if I felt a lot of things? What if I'm sick of a world where the expectations stay the same but I change? Why aren't I ever what I try to be, Finn? Answer me that."

Finn looked positively horrified "You sound seriously gay right now, dude."

_Yes Finn, thank you for stating the obvious once again. _"Can you please just leave?"

Finn didn't say anything before he left. Kurt got the feeling he was scared.

Things got worse as the evening went on. Rachel called him another 6 times, until it seemed he was forced to either contact her or throw his phone repeatedly against the wall. He texted her saying that he was sick. _Horrible stomach bug, highly contagious, can't stop throwing up. _She promptly sent him a call which his immediately rejected. _Can't talk- hurts! :( _

She replied simply with _I love you_ and yes, he did feel guilty. He felt guilty for not texting it back. He felt even guiltier about the fact he might have been lying if he had.

* * *

Blaine had spent the last two days on autopilot. There was only one think about. It's funny, because he'd had boyfriends before whom he'd dated for weeks, or months, and yet he had never had this happen to him before. The thought of someone had never been able to stop him breathing, he'd been able to concentrate, the idea of never seeing someone again had never made him feel so _hopeless_. But this was all happening to him at once; it was taking over his mind as though he were possessed.

Rachel had been pouting ever since he and Kurt had gone out together and for a while he was terrified that maybe she knew. When he was told about Kurt's 'stomach bug' he had pretending not to be interested, but he felt shaken. The most likely scenario, as he knew, was that Kurt was not sick. But if he was, then a visit from Blaine wasn't going to do him any good. Maybe if he pretended he was just checking up? Yes, he would seem creepy, but he could visit under the pretence of worrying about Kurt's health. His head was jumbled up inside and thoughts were firing at him from different directions. Somehow, he found himself outside Kurt's house.

Kurt was actually finally getting to sleep when he heard his door click open and a body shuffle in.

"Finn, I told you to leave." He mumbled into his pillow.

Blaine couldn't help but smile despite himself, until he realised he had to speak.

"Sorry," was all he could get out, and Kurt's head snapped upwards.

"Blaine? Blaine what the hell are you doing here?" He glanced around the room nervously "Does your sister know."

Blaine shook his head "She said you were sick..." he didn't think to mention that he'd barely believed it for a second.

"I lied." Kurt said plainly.

"Why?" Blaine's voice came out in a whisper.

"I didn't dare leave my room," Kurt said "I didn't dare leave unless I went to visit you."

"What would have happen if you did that?"

Kurt put his face in his hands and groaned "I was afraid I'd talk to _you_, Blaine."

Blaine found himself sitting down on the bed beside Kurt, his voice still low "I've ruined everything for you haven't I?" He became almost tearful.

Kurt looked up at him with wide eyes and he was in shock, because the answer was _yes, you've ruined everything_ but in his head he felt like none of this was Blaine's fault. He felt like none of this had happened because of Blaine. "You didn't... I mean it wasn't your fault, Blaine."

"I kissed you."

"And I kissed you back," Kurt said a little too loudly. He could feel his skin itching from Blaine's presence, but it was the kind of itch that he craved more of rather than wanted to get rid of.

Blaine seemed to mull things over in his mind. "When I asked you if you love her...?"

Kurt moaned in protest "Blaine please don't say things like that."

"When and you asked if I had an ulterior motive. I did have one, Kurt. And I feel like I've betrayed my sister. I feel so guilty, but I can't stop thinking about you. I can't concentrate on anything but _you_ Kurt."

Kurt was starting to become frustrated "At least you don't have to question everything you are, Blaine! My life was so freaking perfect before I met you and now you've changed everything but," he clasped hold of Blaine's hand "But there's something that makes me want you to keep changing it."

Blaine stared at their entangled fingers for a long time without saying anything.

"Maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore." The younger boy said.

He left without another look in Kurt's direction.


End file.
